United States v. Latroy Burris
Dissenting Opinion
The majority rules that robbery-by-injury under Texas law is not a violent felony for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act. The ACCA defines "violent felony" to include any crime that "has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another."
Texas robbery-by-injury criminalizes "intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly caus[ing] bodily injury " in the course of committing theft. Tex. Penal Code § 29.02(a)(1) (emphasis added). "[T]o constitute the crime of robbery[-by-injury], there must be violence ." Devine v. State ,
My colleagues disagree, concluding that "Texas robbery-by-injury does not have use of physical force as an element." United States v. Burris ,
I.
In Curtis Johnson , the Supreme Court explained that "physical force" as used in *333the ACCA "means violent force-that is, force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person."
Curtis Johnson argued-and the Court agreed-that his Florida conviction for felony battery did not qualify as a "violent felony" under the ACCA. As the Court noted, the Florida Supreme Court had held that "the element of 'actually and intentionally touching' under Florida's battery law is satisfied by any intentional physical contact, 'no matter how slight.' " Id . at 138,
The Government argued that Florida battery was a "violent felony" under the ACCA based on the common-law meaning of force. At common law, force was "satisfied by even the slightest offensive touching." Id . at 139,
The Court rejected the Government's reliance on the common law. "Although a common-law term of art should be given its established common-law meaning, we do not assume that a statutory word is used as a term of art where that meaning does not fit." Id . at 139,
Accordingly, the Court ruled that Curtis Johnson's Florida conviction for felony battery did not qualify as a "violent felony" because "only the slightest unwanted physical touch" did not rise to the level of "force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person." Id . at 137, 140,
The majority acknowledges that Curtis Johnson "defined 'physical force' as 'violent force -that is, force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person.' " 892 F.3d at 809 (quoting
But that conclusion conflicts with Curtis Johnson itself. Curtis Johnson explained that "physical force" requires "only that degree of force necessary to inflict pain-a slap in the face, for example ."
The majority claims that it is "not clear" whether "a slap in the face would be 'violent force,' " because it is "unclear whether the Court was positing 'that degree of force necessary to inflict pain' ... as synonymous with 'violent force.' " 892 F.3d at 810 n.69. But Curtis Johnson expressly defines "physical force" in terms of physical *334pain: "We think it clear that ... the phrase 'physical force' means violent force-that is, force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person."
Nor does Castleman support the majority's contention. Indeed, the majority acknowledges that Castleman "expressly declined" to "decide the question whether minor injuries, such as a 'cut, abrasion, [or] bruise .... necessitate violent force, under [ Curtis ] Johnson 's definition of that phrase.' " 892 F.3d at 807 (alterations in original). Instead, as the Castleman majority explained, "Justice Scalia's concurrence suggests that these forms of injury"-"a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn or disfigurement; physical pain or temporary illness or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty"-"necessitate violent force, under Johnson 's definition of that phrase."
In his concurrence, Justice Scalia explained that "[h]itting, slapping, shoving, grabbing, pinching, biting, [and] hair pulling" all entail the use of "physical force" as defined by Curtis Johnson because each act is "capable of causing physical pain or injury." Id . at 1421 (Scalia, J., concurring) (alterations in original) ("None of those actions bears any real resemblance to mere offensive touching.").
In sum, "since it is impossible to cause bodily injury without using force 'capable *335of' producing that result," a statute that requires " 'caus[ing] bodily injury,' categorically involves the use of 'force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person.' "
II.
Texas robbery-by-injury requires the State to prove that the defendant "cause[d] bodily injury to another." Tex. Penal Code § 29.02(a)(1). Bodily injury "means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition." Tex. Penal Code § 1.07(a)(8). "[E]ven relatively minor physical contacts" are capable of causing bodily injury-"so long as they constitute more than mere offensive touching ." Lane v. State ,
The majority disagrees, citing concerns regarding both the degree of force required to cause and the degree of injury required to suffer bodily injury under Texas law. 892 F.3d at 809.
As to requisite degree of force, the majority asserts that "causing 'relatively minor physical contacts' (which are still more than 'mere offensive touching') does not entail the 'violent force' described in Curtis Johnson ." 892 F.3d at 809-10. But that is precisely what Curtis Johnson requires: "violent force" is merely "force capable of causing physical pain or injury."
As to the degree of injury, the majority first contends that "a minor injury, such as a bruise, ... does not require Curtis Johnson 's violent force." 892 F.3d at 809-10. As explained above, that contention is inconsistent with the precedents of the Supreme Court and our sister circuits. See supra nn.2-3 and accompanying text.
Indeed, as one of the majority's own sources explains: "A bruise 'is a traumatic injury of the soft tissues which results in breakage of the local capillaries and leakage of red blood cells.' A person who causes a bruise causes physical impairment by causing the local capillaries to break, allowing red blood cells to leak into the surrounding tissue." Gay v. State ,
The majority further asserts that causing bodily injury does not necessarily require physical force because it "appears that pain is not a requirement" of bodily injury. 892 F.3d at 809 ("Any 'impairment *336of physical condition' is bodily injury."). But even if that were true, it is beside the point. Curtis Johnson defines physical force in the disjunctive, as "force capable of causing physical pain or injury ."
Finally, the majority crafts a "robbery-by-tripping" hypothetical to argue that causing bodily injury does not require using physical force. See 892 F.3d at 811-12 ("By tripping the victim and causing him to fall, the robber 'impaired' the victim's 'physical condition,' satisfying the Texas definition of 'bodily injury,' but falling outside the boundaries of 'violent force' in Curtis Johnson ."). In other words, based on nothing more than its novel interpretation of "impairment of physical condition," the majority contends that a defendant could cause bodily injury without causing injury or pain. From that premise, the majority concludes that robbery-by-injury is not a violent felony. But neither the majority's premise, nor its conclusion, withstands scrutiny.
Even if it were hypothetically possible to cause bodily injury without also causing pain or injury, that would be wholly beside the point. Curtis Johnson defines "physical force" as "force capable of causing physical pain or injury"-it does not require that pain or injury actually result.
In addition, the majority does not cite a single case to support its contention that a defendant could impair someone's physical condition without causing either pain or injury.
Nor could it: Texas courts have explained that "impairment" occurs when "a part of a person's ... body is damaged or does not work well, esp. when the condition amounts to a disability." Marshall v. State ,
It is hard to understand how a defendant could cause "damage" to the victim's body (or internal organs) without also causing physical pain or injury. Instead, the majority's robbery-by-tripping hypothetical-like "tapping a victim on the shoulder and causing him to fall down and suffer great bodily harm"-"is a clever hypothetical," but it is also precisely "type of argument the Supreme Court has instructed us to avoid crediting." United States v. Ceron ,
Indeed, the only case cited by the majority is an indictment (not a judicial decision) that charges a defendant with knowingly causing epileptic seizures. 892 F.3d at 812 & n.80 (citing State v. Rivello indictment). Surely the majority does not contend *337that epileptic seizures do not cause pain or injury.
Even holding all those problems to the side, the majority's contention that "tripping the victim" who is "giv[ing] chase" "and causing him to fall" does not involve "force capable of causing physical pain or injury" is simply unpersuasive. 892 F.3d at 812. If a slap in the face is capable of causing physical pain or injury, then so too is tripping someone and causing them to fall. See United States v. Bowles , --- Fed.Appx. ----, ----,
* * *
Texas robbery-by-injury requires proof that the defendant "cause[d] bodily injury to another." Tex. Penal Code § 29.02(a)(1). Because "it is impossible to cause bodily injury without using force 'capable of' producing that result," Texas robbery-by-injury qualifies as a violent felony-it "categorically involves the use of 'force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person.' " Castleman ,
As the Eighth Circuit recently put it: a "Texas robbery conviction constitutes a 'violent felony' under the force clause of the ACCA" because "Texas second-degree robbery requires at least as much violent force as required by Johnson ." Hall , 877 F.3d at 808. "Because there must be actual bodily injury or 'actual or perceived threat of imminent bodily injury,' Texas second-degree robbery 'has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of [violent] physical force,' which 'is force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person.' " Id . at 807 (alteration in original, internal citation omitted).
In ruling otherwise, the majority creates a circuit split, misinterprets both Curtis Johnson and Castleman , and relies on what can only be described as "legal imagination" in defining bodily injury under Texas law to require neither pain nor injury. I respectfully dissent.
The same analysis applies to Texas robbery-by-threat. Just as causing bodily injury requires the use of physical force, threatening or placing someone in fear of imminent bodily injury similarly requires the attempted or threatened use of physical force. See Tex. Penal Code § 29.02(a)(2). See also United States v. Brewer ,
See United States v. Bowles , --- Fed.Appx. ----, ----,
See Harris ,
See also Jennings ,
The cases the majority cites when it introduces its robbery-by-tripping hypothetical merely confirm that Texas robbery-by-injury can be committed by "injuring someone during flight from the scene of a theft." 892 F.3d at 812 n.79 (citing White v. State ,
Opinion of the Court
Defendant-Appellant Latroy Leon Burris pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), which provides for an increased *322sentence if the defendant has been convicted of three prior violent felonies. Burris contends that he was not eligible for the increase because his prior Texas conviction for robbery was not a violent felony. We agree with Burris, and hold that the Texas robbery statute underlying one of his prior convictions does not have "use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force" as an element. We therefore vacate his sentence and remand for resentencing.
I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
In July 2016, Burris pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of
The PSR states that Burris had three prior convictions qualifying him for the ACCA: (1) a 1993 Texas conviction for robbery, (2) a 1993 Texas conviction for aggravated robbery, and (3) a 2012 Texas conviction for manufacturing/delivering a controlled substance. When he pleaded guilty, Burris disputed that he qualified for the enhanced penalties of the ACCA. After the probation office issued the PSR, Burris objected, insisting that his convictions for robbery and aggravated robbery do not qualify for the ACCA.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
The government acknowledges that Burris preserved his objection in the district court. We therefore review de novo the district court's conclusion that his simple robbery conviction was a violent felony *323under the ACCA.
III. DISCUSSION
A. The Relevant Statutes
The ACCA defines a "violent felony," in relevant part, as:
[A]ny crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year ... that-
(i) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another; or
(ii) is burglary, arson, or extortion, involves use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another[.]8
Before the Supreme Court's decision in Samuel Johnson v. United States ,
B. The Elements of Texas Robbery
Texas robbery is defined in § 29.02(a) of the Texas Penal Code as follows:
A person commits an offense if, in the course of committing theft ... and with intent to obtain or maintain control of the property, he:
(1) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another; or
(2) intentionally or knowingly threatens or places another in fear of imminent bodily injury or death.12
For today's purpose, we refer to the alternatives delineated by subparts (1) and (2) as "robbery-by-injury" and "robbery-by-threat." This court has never addressed whether § 29.02(a) is indivisible or divisible
If § 29.02(a) is indivisible, the court "focus[es] solely on whether the elements of the crime of conviction" include the use *324of force.
On the other hand, if § 29.02(a) is divisible, "we isolate the alternative under which the defendant was convicted," then determine whether force is an element of that particular offense.
Burris's conviction documents do not specify whether he was convicted of robbery-by-injury or robbery-by-threat. His indictment states that he caused injury, but it charges him with aggravated robbery. We cannot look to the indictment to narrow the subsection of conviction if it indicts Burris for a crime other than the one to which he pleaded guilty.
We first address robbery-by-injury. If a defendant can "cause bodily injury" without "using force," then the Texas robbery statute-or at least its robbery-by-injury prong-does not have use of force as an element.
*325C. A Plethora of Precedent
As an initial matter, we note that another panel of this court, in an unpublished, one-sentence opinion, recently affirmed a district court's ruling that Texas robbery is not a violent felony under the ACCA.
1. The En Banc Court Answers Our Question
Texas defines "bodily injury" as "physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition."
We reiterated this difference in United States v. Villegas-Hernandez , when we considered whether the Texas crime of assault-requiring that one "intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly cause[ ] bodily injury" or threaten to do so-was an "aggravated felony" under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C).
2. The Supreme Court Weighs In
Looking solely at this precedent, Vargas-Duran would compel the holding that a person may "cause bodily injury" per Texas law without using "physical force" per federal law. But the Supreme Court has recently decided three cases that are related to the issue before us. First, in Curtis Johnson v. United States , the Court interpreted the phrase "physical force" within the ACCA. The Court noted that the common law definition of "force" can be "satisfied by even the slightest offensive touching."
Second, and more recently, the Court decided United States v. Castleman , in which it considered the term "physical force" in the context of a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" (MCDV). A MCDV is defined using identical language to the ACCA: it "has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force."
Applying this common-law definition of "physical force," the Court held that the defendant's conviction for "caus[ing] bodily injury" to the mother of his child categorically qualified as a MCDV.
Even more recently, the Court decided Voisine v. United States , which concerned the meaning of "use" rather than "physical force." Like Castleman , Voisine arose in the context of an MCDV.
3. The Impact Of Castleman and Voisine
The crux of the government's contention is that Castleman , an MCDV case, should apply to ACCA/violent felony cases. But prior panels of this court have determined that, while Voisine 's holding applies outside of the MCDV context, Castleman 's does not.
First, in United States v. Howell and United States v. Mendez-Henriquez , this court adopted Voisine 's holding in the context of a "crime of violence" under two sentencing guidelines.
This court has also held, in two published decisions, that-unlike Voisine -*328Castleman 's holding does not apply outside of the MCDV context. In United States v. Rico-Mejia , this court acknowledged the rule from Villegas-Hernandez , and other cases stemming from Vargas-Duran , that "a person could cause physical injury without using physical force."
D. Causing Injury Without Using Force
The government maintains that Vargas-Duran does not control. It first argues that because Voisine applies outside the MCDV context, Castleman must as well; as a result, the government contends, Rico-Mejia was wrongly decided because it conflicts with the earlier decisions in Howell and Mendez-Henriquez . Second, the government insists that Castleman overruled our precedent that causing injury captures more conduct than using force.
But we need not rely on the line of cases constituted by, e.g., Vargas-Duran , Villegas-Hernandez , and Rico-Mejia . Even if the government is correct that Vargas-Duran and its line of cases no longer control, we nevertheless reverse because there are other examples of how a person may cause injury without using physical force. Specifically, Burris contends that causing a minor injury, such as a bruise, meets the Texas definition of causing "bodily injury,"
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has interpreted the definition of "bodily injury" quite expansively, noting that "[t]his definition appears to be purposefully broad and seems to encompass even relatively minor physical contacts so long as they constitute more than mere offensive touching."
*329The question, then, is whether causing such a minor injury that impairs a physical condition, but with no or minimal pain, necessarily requires the "violent force" described in Curtis Johnson .
Castleman itself also suggests that a minor injury does not require Curtis Johnson 's violent force. First, the Court noted that the Tennessee statute at issue, like § 29.02, broadly defined "bodily injury," even though that statute specifically included a mere abrasion or bruise.
For example, in an opinion that we cited with approval in [ Curtis ] Johnson , the Seventh Circuit noted that it was "hard to describe ... as 'violence' " "a squeeze of the arm [that] causes a bruise." But an act of this nature is easy to describe as "domestic violence," when the accumulation of such acts over time can subject one intimate partner to the other's control.67
Although the Court did not say so explicitly, this suggests that a bruise illustrates the difference between "violent force" in the ACCA context on the one hand and domestic violence on the other. By setting up this contrast, the Court indicated that causing a bruise is not "substantial" enough to be "violent force."
*330The government's remaining arguments are unavailing. It first cites several cases in which Texas courts defined robbery in terms of force or violence. But "[t]he meaning of 'physical force' in § 924(e)(2)(B)(i) is a question of federal law, not state law."
Second, the government cites United States v. Santiesteban-Hernandez , in which this court held that Texas robbery was a crime of violence per U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2.
*331Third, the government contends that, even if there are hypothetical examples of causing bodily injury without using physical force, those examples are not feasible in the robbery context. The government cites earlier decisions of this court maintaining that examples of robbery convictions which do not involve use of force must be "realistic probabilit[ies]," and "[t]heoretical applications of a statute to conduct that would not constitute a crime of violence do not demonstrate that the statutory offense is categorically not a crime of violence."
Finally, the government points out that the Eighth Circuit recently held that Texas robbery is a violent felony.
In sum, Texas robbery-by-injury does *332not have use of physical force as an element. As a result, Burris's prior conviction under § 29.02 was not a violent felony under the ACCA.
IV. CONCLUSION
We VACATE Burris's sentence and REMAND for resentencing, consistent with this opinion.
The facts of Burris's instant offenses are not relevant to the issue on appeal, which concerns only his prior Texas state court convictions.
Burris does not appear to dispute that the 2012 conviction for manufacturing/delivering a controlled substance is a serious drug offense under the ACCA.
United States v. Lerma ,
He does, however, preserve this argument for further review.
United States v. Constante ,
--- U.S. ----,
United States v. Davis ,
Samuel Johnson ,
Tex. Penal Code Ann . § 29.02(a).
Cf. United States v. Garza , No. 2:04-CR-269,
See Lerma ,
See United States v. Herrold ,
Lerma,
United States v. Turner ,
Although the conviction documents refer to "the charging instrument," we have invoked this exception only when conviction documents explicitly reference the lesser-included offense to that in the indictment. Compare United States v. Hernandez-Borjas ,
Moreover, as explained below, we conclude that robbery-by-injury does not have use of force as an element. Thus, even if we did look to the indictment to determine that Burris was convicted of robbery by injury, the outcome of this case would not change.
If a defendant could cause injury without using force, then using force is not a constituent part of a crime that requires causing injury. See Mathis ,
United States v. Fennell ,
Tex. Penal Code Ann . § 1.07(a)(8).
Vargas-Duran ,
Villegas-Hernandez ,
Id. at 879.
Curtis Johnson v. United States ,
United States v. Castleman ,
Id. at 1409, 1413-15.
Id. at 1414.
Id. at 1414-15.
Id. at 1413 (emphasis added). The Court added:
The Courts of Appeals have generally held that mere offensive touching cannot constitute the 'physical force' necessary to a 'crime of violence,' just as we held in [Curtis ] Johnson that it could not constitute the 'physical force' necessary to a 'violent felony.' ... Nothing in today's opinion casts doubt on these holdings, because-as we explain-'domestic violence' encompasses a range of force broader than that which constitutes 'violence' simpliciter .
Id. at 1414.
Voisine v. United States , --- U.S. ----,
United States v. Mendez-Henriquez ,
Both cases stopped short of expressly saying that Voisine abrogated this part of Vargas-Duran . See Mendez-Henriquez ,
Moore ,
United States v. Rico-Mejia ,
Which, again, is defined as "physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition." Tex. Penal Code Ann . § 1.07 (a)(8).
Lane v. State ,
Lane ,
See Tex. Penal Code Ann . § 1.07 (a)(8) (" 'Bodily injury' means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition." (emphasis added) ); Gay ,
Curtis Johnson remains the defining case for "physical force" in the ACCA. See Castleman ,
Curtis Johnson ,
Lane ,
Castleman ,
The government contends that there is no material difference between a bruise (and similar minor injuries) and a "slap in the face," which it contends satisfies Curtis Johnson 's "violent force" definition. See Curtis Johnson ,
Specifying that "physical force" must rise to the level of bodily injury does not suggest that without the qualification "physical force" would consist of the merest touch. It might consist, for example, of only that degree of force necessary to inflict pain-a slap in the face, for example.
Curtis Johnson ,
The government also points to the fact that robbery was initially included in the enumerated offenses clause, but was removed before passage. United States v. Mathis ,
Id. at 380. The approach taken by other states was important because a "predicate offense" analysis requires that we "determin[e] the generic, contemporary meaning of the predicate offense, [and] compare it to the statute governing the prior conviction." Id. at 379.
Id. at 381. We need not consider whether this reasoning would survive Curtis Johnson 's clarification of the meaning of physical force.
Id. at 378-79.
United States v. Carrasco-Tercero ,
A person may be convicted under § 29.02 for injuring someone during flight from the scene of a theft. White v. State ,
Indictment, State v. Rivello , No. F1700215 (Crim. Dist. Ct. No. 5, Dallas County, Tex, filed Mar. 20, 2017).
United States v. Hall ,
As noted above, we need not address robbery-by-threat.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Latroy Leon BURRIS, Defendant-Appellant
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published